


Cloth

by CloversDreams



Category: Chainsaw Man (Manga)
Genre: Denial of Feelings, Emotional Constipation, Fluff, M/M, Playful teasing, Realization of Feelings, but wrapped up in soft times, he probably was, post chap 60, protip: if you have to ask ‘was he flirting with me’
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-07
Updated: 2020-03-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:07:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23053690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CloversDreams/pseuds/CloversDreams
Summary: There was a moment of silence before Aki finally asked, “Is this your roundabout way of asking me if I like you?”Angel opened his mouth then shut it again. Oh. Well, when he put it like that… yeah. He frowned to himself then looked at the human and finally sighed, “I guess it is.”A hint of amusement shined in Aki’s eyes. There was a teasing half-smile on his face as he replied, “Maybe you should kiss me yourself and find out.”“Do you have a death wish?” Angel let out an annoyed huff. The guy knew full well that such a thing was impossible. To suggest it at all was borderline moronic. Especially when accompanied by that stupid look upon his face. Angel didn’t see what was so funny right now.
Relationships: Angel Devil/Hayakawa Aki
Comments: 10
Kudos: 114





	Cloth

**Author's Note:**

> this is a sequel to [ Light Up The Dark ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22889431) and mentions what happened in it

“Well, this is my place,” Aki stated the obvious. He looked over at the front door and seemed to be contemplating something. A muffled argument about Power ‘needing to put some clothes on and show decency’ could be heard seeping through the walls. He simply shook his head. Whatever decision he’d been pondering was made for him when those two started going at it.

“Aki,” Angel paused and pursed his lips together. When the human looked at him he turned his head and mumbled, “About that time you kissed me…”

“I did no such thing.” Aki immediately retorted. He wagged a finger at the devil and said, “Don’t go around spreading such rumors.”

“You di–” Angel didn’t even get the thought out before he realized that Aki was right. Technically, he’d kissed his own hand. Angel’s gaze fell to the ground. His shoulders slumped and he sighed, “Oh, never mind.”

It was better this way. If they acted like it never happened then he didn’t have to think about it anymore. It would be nothing but a forgotten memory in no time. Yeah, right. Angel couldn’t even believe his own lie in that moment. Not when said not-kiss had been on his mind for just under a month now. He hadn’t seen a point in bringing it up earlier but now he was too curious not to ask about it.

“What’s that expression about?” Aki asked. He frowned and crossed his arms. There was more arguing from within his home and he chose to ignore it. Those two could knock one another out for all he cared. He narrowed his eyes at his partner and muttered, “Answer me truthfully, Angel.”

“Would you have? If you could’ve, I mean…” Angel mumbled under his breath.

Aki tilted his head and kept his curious gaze upon the devil. “Would I have what?”

“Kissed me for real,” Angel clarified. It sure was strange to ask such a thing out loud. Though he supposed it was better than dwelling on it for nearly a month.

“If you wanted me to, sure.” Aki shrugged.

Angel held his chin in the air and declared, “That’s an unsatisfactory response.”

“How so?” Aki asked.

Angel shook his head. It was obvious, but humans were dumb. Even if he gave Aki the benefit of the doubt, he was still human at the end of the day. So Angel went ahead and explained, “I want to know if you’d kiss me because it’s what you desire, not as a favor or out of some feeling of obligation.”

There was a moment of silence before Aki finally asked, “Is this your roundabout way of asking me if I like you?”

Angel opened his mouth then shut it again. Oh. Well, when he put it like that… yeah. He frowned to himself then looked at the human and finally sighed, “I guess it is.”

A hint of amusement shined in Aki’s eyes. There was a teasing half-smile on his face as he replied, “Maybe you should kiss me yourself and find out.”

“Do you have a death wish?” Angel let out an annoyed huff. The guy knew full well that such a thing was impossible. To suggest it at all was borderline moronic. Especially when accompanied by that stupid look upon his face. Angel didn’t see what was so funny right now.

“Of course not.”

“You don’t make any sense!” Angel exclaimed. He balled his hands into fists and stomped his foot. This attempt at a conversation left him both frustrated and grumpy. The fact that the human looked like he knew and was amused by this made it that much worse.

“Goodnight, Angel.” Aki smiled and offered him a nod. He turned and walked over to the front door as he added, “I'll see you tomorrow.”

Before it even registered that the conversation was over, Aki was gone. The muffled shouts from earlier reignited as he started to scold the devils within. Angel didn’t care so he didn’t stick around. He flew away and thought about the moment earlier when Aki looked like he wanted to say something. If he didn’t know any better, he might have thought that the human wanted to invite him into his home. That wouldn’t have been weird. They were partners after all, so his housemates wouldn’t think twice about it.

Not that Angel actually wanted to be invited in. That sounded like a social obligation and frankly just the thought was exhausting. Still, there had been something akin to regret in those dark eyes that was rather curious indeed. Angel frowned to himself as he thought about how their conversation had ended. What extreme nonsense. Aki knew they couldn’t touch so obviously he wasn’t about to kiss him. Whether or not he even wanted to was unimportant.

He dwelled on this the whole flight back to his place. It was when he finally flopped onto his couch that realization struck him. Human or not, Aki wasn’t an idiot, of course he knew. Not to mention that look in his eyes and smile on his face. The human had been teasing him that whole time. Angel was so caught up in being flustered that he didn’t even realize it. He put a hand over his heart and muttered, “Was he… flirting with me?”

Great, now he wouldn’t be able to sleep because he’d be wondering about that. Honestly, the human was more trouble than anything else. Angel wished he could just be rid of the guy. The awful way his gut twisted at the thought called him out on that blatant lie. Angel frowned and rolled over then squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t _care_. Not about Aki or flirting or anything else having to do with human courtship. He also didn’t care if his mind didn’t want to sleep. He’d lie there all night anyway out of sheer stubbornness. There was no one who could stop him.

*  
  


Angel didn’t say a word as he followed Aki through the HQ and towards the exit. They were done for the day so it was time for him to walk the human home, as had become a habit. Their conversation from last night was still on his mind. He couldn’t help but be distracted by it.

He was momentarily surprised when they stopped so Aki could chat with someone, but he simply observed. This other human, a light-haired woman, seemed to be smiling quite a bit. She laughed nervously at things that weren’t funny in any sense of the word. Her cheeks were flushed, and she tucked her hair behind her ear an unnecessary amount of times.

The brief knowledge Angel had of this particular woman was that her circumstance was similar to Aki’s in that her family was slaughtered by a devil. Perhaps she saw a kindred spirit in the guy. Maybe that was why she stood just a little too close to him as she talked and smiled a bit more than necessary. Angel’s gaze shifted to Aki and he continued to observe. The guy was calm, and he had a kind expression on his face.

Even so, Angel could tell that Aki was only going through the motions. That smile was forced. He was being polite because they were coworkers. His genuine smile was a lot more subtle, and very warm. It reached his eyes. It was the one he showed when the two of them were alone and he was comfortable enough to let his guard down for a bit. Angel had just begun to zone out when something interesting enough to keep his attention occurred. The woman invited Aki out for dinner.

Angel wasn’t sure why that surprised him. The guy was kind to other humans. He was strong and could protect them, too. Of course they’d take a liking to him and want to spend more time together. His gaze fell to the ground. If Aki agreed to this, Angel knew he certainly wouldn’t be invited as well. That meant he wouldn’t have to walk Aki home. Not that it really mattered. He should jump at the chance to do less work. And yet…

His eyes widened when Aki declined the offer. It was polite and he made up an excuse about being exhausted after a rough day. The woman seemed to understand completely and told him not to worry about it. After that the conversation was short lived, and frankly not that interesting. The two humans exchanged a quick goodbye. Then they were on their way out of the building again.

Angel turned towards the sound of distressed grunts when he and Aki stepped outside. Denji was sparring with another devil again. He honestly didn’t know how the kid kept it up. Just watching him was exhausting. No matter. Angel focused his attention on where they were headed. He glanced at Aki out of the corner of his eye and a flash of that woman inviting him out appeared in his mind. He felt an uncomfortable twinge in his gut.

It was time for a change of subject. He tilted his head and looked over to the side as he said, “You saved my life again today. It’s becoming a habit of yours.”

Aki nodded and replied, “I figure the more I do that the more indebted to me you become. Soon you’ll have no choice but to be my personal maid.” He glanced at Angel and the corner of his mouth curved upwards in a smirk as he added, “I’ve got the outfit picked out already.”

Angel’s eyes widened. Though it didn’t take long for him to realize that the human was holding back a laugh. His expression melted to its usual indifference. Angel pouted and mumbled, “You’re messing with me again…”

“I can’t help it,” Aki snickered, “you’re too easy.” He stopped walking abruptly and held out his right arm to block Angel’s path. Not a moment later Denji came skidding in their direction, missing them by an extremely narrow margin. Aki dropped his arm then stepped over the boy on the ground without a care. It wasn’t his problem. He was off the clock, after all.

Angel followed suit and stepped over Denji as well. He glanced back at his fellow devil and watched him jump to his feet then wipe his bloody nose with the back of his hand. He was fine since he was right back in offensive mode. Angel turned back around and eyed Aki curiously for a moment. The guy couldn’t care less about what was happening behind them.

The human stopped at the edge of the long driveway that lead to the HQ and removed a cigarette from his pocket. He lit it, took a drag, and seemed lost in thought. No matter how much he learned about this human, Angel still found himself so curious about him. It was like there were an infinite number of facts he could learn about the guy. It didn’t matter how hard he tried he’d never know them all.

A thought occurred to Angel and he turned his head then said, “You don’t treat me like you do other devils.”

“Don’t I?” Aki asked between puffs. He brought the cigarette back to his lips and inhaled.

Angel shook his head. Though he had a million and one examples, he stayed silent. He wasn’t sure why. Perhaps it was simply too much effort to go through all the separate instances. He noticed movement out of the corner of his eye and turned back towards Aki just in time to see him shrug.

For some reason that irked Angel. Once again Aki chose to avoid the matter instead of respond properly. He didn’t know why it was so difficult to get a real answer out of him. If it was Makima who asked Aki would respond in a heartbeat. Angel didn’t care for that line of thought.

He thought about the interaction with the woman before. If what Aki said was true and he wanted to go home he should. Rest was a necessity in their line of work. Still, some part of him didn’t quite want that to happen. For some unknown reason that side got the better of him and he held his chin in the air then said, “I want to go on a date. Take me.”

Aki paused with the cigarette just a hair’s breadth away from his lips. He turned towards Angel and looked genuinely surprised. The expression faded into his usual look. He refocused on an unknown spot in front of himself and asked, “Do you even know what a date is?”

“Of course I do, and I want to go,” Angel replied matter-of-factly. While not an outright yes, it wasn’t an immediate refusal as the woman earlier had gotten. Interesting.

“I guess it couldn’t hurt to show you human customs,” Aki mused. He tapped on his cigarette so the excess ash fell to the ground. “It might make you more sympathetic towards them.”

“Forget it, then.”

“That was quick,” Aki replied flatly. The expression on his face said that he was not surprised in the slightest.

“I can learn all I want about humans and their customs on my own time,” Angel grumbled. That woman earlier gave him a bit of an epiphany. It was direct or nothing with Aki. He held his chin in the air defiantly and said, “Either you take me on a real date because you like me, or just forget I ever asked.”

He certainly used the word ‘asked’ lightly. Aki took one last drag of his cigarette as he thought about it. He dropped the butt and stomped it out. Then he shrugged, shook his head, and mumbled, “Have it your way.”

Angel frowned to himself and looked elsewhere. He supposed that was that, then. The human wouldn’t bother. It couldn’t be helped if Aki wasn’t interested in him. He could probably request to be partnered with someone else if he worked extra hard and got on Makima’s good side. Man, that sounded like a punishment worse than death. It also might take a while. Angel didn’t look forward to it at all.

He gasped in surprise when something grabbed his hand. His gaze fell downwards to see Aki's hand in his. Angel still wasn’t used to that. While he knew the human wore gloves around him, it was always shocking that someone would dare touch him. Angel looked up at Aki's face and his eyes widened. There was a smile… directed at him…Unlike with that woman earlier, it was Aki’s genuine one, as soft and warm as ever. Why? He certainly didn’t understand it.

Aki turned his head and motioned with his free hand as he explained, “I know this really good restaurant with a nice atmosphere, but it’s a bit of a walk so we’d better get started.”

Angel chose to ignore the way his cheeks felt like they were on fire. He stayed true to himself and whined, “Walking sounds tedious. Why not drive?”

Aki tilted his head in his direction and replied, “The walk is part of the date.”

“Walks aren’t dates,” Angel promptly replied. “We walk together all the time.”

The corner of Aki’s mouth turned upwards in a smirk. He squeezed Angel’s hand and he said, “This one is, I assure you.”

“Without a car we might be seen together.” Angel’s grip on the hand in his remained strong. Even if his mind told him he should let go, he just wanted to wait a bit longer.

“Probably.” Aki shrugged.

“Rumors spread fast among your kind.” Angel wasn’t sure which of them he was trying to convince at this point. Or of what. He wanted to hold hands. So what the heck was he saying?

Aki shook his head and sighed, “If I cared about things like that, I wouldn’t be taking a devil out in the first place.” He tugged on Angel’s hand and added, “This way.”

Angel didn’t argue. He let himself be guided to wherever Aki had planned. He did take note of the fact that it wasn’t in the direction of the human’s home. So he was actually serious about them going somewhere together. Angel wasn’t sure what he felt about that. His gut twisted, but it didn’t seem like it was in a bad way this time.

After about fifteen minutes they ended up on a path that went right down the middle of a garden. Angel hadn’t ever seen this place before so he was a bit in awe. Everything was so green and full of life. The bushes were cut into interesting shapes, which was as silly as it was intriguing. All around them were dozens of rows of flowers in every color imaginable. Every now and then humans surprised him with their ability to create something beautiful in this otherwise awful world.

Even more amazing was the fact that Aki seemed to know all about this place. He didn’t seem lost at all as they weaved through the maze. Not only that, but he offered up some facts about the different flowers they walked past. Angel found himself surprised by this human yet again. Not to mention quite intrigued.

Aki lead them over to a row of flowers and picked one with his free hand. He twirled it between his fingers and hummed, “This flower is said to attract angels, you know.” He offered it to the devil. “What do you think?”

“It’s fine… I guess…” Angel took the flower and studied it for a moment. He wasn’t particularly attracted to it or anything like that. Not that he could really focus on thinking about that with Aki standing so close to him. Though something about that made him nervous. Probably because he didn’t want to accidentally kill the guy. One accidental touch was all it’d take. That’d be a headache. Although, Aki knew that. He was aware of how great the risk was, yet he still held his hand as firmly as ever. He chose to stand so close. Angel felt a little flutter in his chest at the thought.

They spent nearly ten minutes worming their way through the garden at a leisurely pace so Aki could talk about the flowers he wished to. They reached the other end and exited the garden. Angel looked down at the flower he still held as Aki dragged him along. He wasn’t even sure how many more minutes passed before they stopped again. When they did, he looked up and blinked at a sign above a building. It was a restaurant he’d never heard of. Ah, it must’ve been the place Aki mentioned. He looked back down at the flower in his hand and wondered what he should do with it.

“Hand that over,” Aki said softly.

Angel turned towards him and watched as the human motioned towards the flower in question. He gave it back without asking why. Maybe it was weird bringing it into the restaurant. Humans did have strange customs. His eyes widened when Aki stepped closer to him. Angel held his breath as the guy let go of his hand then tucked his hair behind his left ear.

Aki placed the flower into those long locks so that it sat just above the devil’s ear. He had a triumphant look upon his face when he nodded and said, “There. Pretty.”

Oh. Angel’s cheeks darkened. He didn’t have the chance to mutter some form of thanks for the compliment before Aki turned around and held the door open for him. He stepped into the building then waited for Aki to do the same. This was a new experience for him, after all. He wasn’t quite sure what to do. The best thing would be to let Aki take the lead.

To Angel’s pleasant surprise, once they were seated Aki told him to order as much as he wanted. So he did. This place was new and he wanted to try as much as possible. The food was surprisingly good for somewhere so dimly lit. It took him about half the meal to realize that the lighting was that way on purpose. It was to emphasize the romantic ambiance. The other humans that were dining there seemed quite lost in it. Fascinating.

He looked at Aki to find he was watching him. There was the faintest of smiles upon his face. Angel looked back down at his food. He only had a few bites left. He asked a vague question about the flower that was still in his hair and Aki began to talk about it in detail. That should keep him occupied while he finished up his food.

After they were done with their meal they stood outside of the restaurant and Angel found himself a bit confused. Something felt off about this whole thing. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Maybe Aki had the answer. He tilted his head and blinked at the human then asked, “Now what?”

“Well, it’s the end of the date so we part ways.” Aki shrugged half-heartedly.

“Oh.” Angel pouted and his gaze fell to the ground. No, that just didn’t feel right. There was something else he wanted to do… but what?

“Was it that disappointing?” Aki asked with a nervous chuckle. He rubbed the back of his head and muttered, “That was kind of out of my hands. It was really last minute, you know.”

Angel shook his head and sighed, “I knew you didn’t take this seriously.”

“Not sure what you’re getting at.” Aki frowned. He raised a curious eyebrow at the devil. “We did all the things people usually do on dates.”

Angel’s eyes widened as realization struck him like a bolt of lightning. That one thing that had been missing seemed so obvious now. His voice was soft when he shook his head and mumbled, “Not all of them…”

He reached into his pocket and removed a handkerchief. The same one, in fact, that Aki had given him the day they’d met. He’d cleaned it and held onto it since then. That small act of kindness had stuck with him in a way that forced him to believe this human was special somehow. He shook the handkerchief so it unfolded then held it up by two opposite ends.

“Angel, what are you d–” Aki didn’t get a chance to finish the question since Angel wrapped the unfolded handkerchief around the bottom half of his face.

Angel stood up on the balls of his feet and maintained eye contact as he leaned in close and whispered, “It’s safe through cloth, right?”

He watched Aki’s eyes widen but didn’t wait for a response. Angel’s eyes fell shut and he finally closed the distance between them then pressed their lips together. He could feel the warmth of Aki’s skin even through the thin cloth. Part of him wanted to commit the feeling to memory. That way he could always look back on it even if he never got to do it again. He felt Aki lean into the kiss at the same time as a pair of hands landed on his waist. He couldn’t help but gasp.

Angel broke the kiss, took a step back from Aki, and turned his head away from him. His cheeks burned so much they hurt. He stuffed the handkerchief back into his pocket. Out of sight, out of mind. He could totally pretend that didn’t just happen. Yeah.

“Took you long enough to make a move,” Aki hummed. He put a gloved hand upon Angel’s cheek and pulled his face back towards him. He smiled fondly at the devil. His thumb caressed that pink cheek slowly as he said, “I was starting to think you’d never come to terms with your feelings.”

“You _knew_?” Angel couldn’t help but sound as shocked as he was by this information.

“Powerful as you may be, you’re not that subtle in the romance department,” Aki laughed. He pulled Angel into a hug, let out a sigh, then shook his head. “You kept me waiting far too long.”

Yet again Angel found himself melting into this human’s embrace. He had no idea what it was about the guy but he didn’t hate it. It was all right. Aki didn’t fear his touch because there was plenty of cloth between them. He’d never shy away from his touch the way others did. Angel saw that now. There was no reason to hold back when it came to this human. He shut his eyes and returned the hug then whispered, “You don’t have to wait anymore, Aki.”

**Author's Note:**

> yes hello I return to toss another fic into the void why not  
> I don’t know what else to do with myself when the mangaka is giving me such good canon content for the ship sdfghgfd
> 
> Goddddd Angel saying the same words to Aki that were said to him when they met but in slightly different context? Yep. Im weaaak
> 
> The handkerchief being used as a barrier to keep them from actually touching but allowing them to kiss was like… one of my first thoughts for this ship :3c
> 
> They make me soft and I just cant take it


End file.
